About Rolfing
What Exactly Is Rolfing
Rolfing is typically taught or applied in a series of ten segments known as the Basic 10 Series. Each segment of the process is both a continuation of the previous ones and an introduction to the next. The body is systematically and physically manipulated in a series of 10 to 15 sessions, each of which lasts about 60 to 90 minutes. Sessions can be scheduled as often as twice a week and as distanced as once a month; however, a separation of 5 to 10 days is optimal. The cost of each session varies according to local economic conditions and the experience and education of the Rolfer. Rolfing is designed to uncover a structural ease and kinetic balance that is unique to each client. It is a process of education in which a Rolfer seeks to help a client discover the most efficient way of using his or her own body, given the limitations, liabilities and virtues of that body. In effect, the plan of each series of ten sessions is created anew for the needs of the individual person seeking help. However, there are certain guidelines and landmarks which every Rolfer follows in each series of sessions. We will explore these basic tenets as we continue our description of the treatment process.
The First Session
The intent of the first Rolfing session is considered superficial by most Rolfers, but they have a very special meaning for superficial. This session’s goal is to systematically release the body’s “sleeve”, sometimes referred to by Rolfer’s as the “body stocking.” It is comprised of the fascial sheath that lies just below the skin’s surface. Some lengthening of the trunk up and out of the pelvis is also anticipated, as well as a relaxation of the legs below the hip joint. Most people appear to be jammed into the pelvic structure from both above and below. After the initial session, clients sometimes feel taller and experience freer movement through the pelvis. The breathing pattern of the client is also affected in this session. Most of us employ only the upper rib cage when we breathe, ignoring the bottom of the rib cage and the diaphragm. By skillfully working with the superficial fascia as it spans the ribs, shoulder joint and costal arch, a Rolfer can help fashion a breathing pattern which uses the diaphragm and the front, sides and back of the rib cage to create one smooth, bellows-like motion. As breathing becomes deeper and easier in continuing sessions, more oxygen is available for metabolic and catabolic activities, and the client feels an increase of energy.
The second Rolfing session centers around the legs and especially the feet. Most people carry their weight on the outside edge of each foot, even though the inside appears better able to support the stress of body weight. In addition, most people walk by allowing the legs to pull the upper body along after them. This habit puts too much pressure on the heels and can reduce flexibility in the toes and metatarsals. If, on the other hand, the upper body initiates a step by falling lightly forward, the legs can easily swing forward in response, with the body’s weight balanced on the whole foot.
After one leg has been worked on, clients are asked to walk and compare the action of the two legs. Invariably, they report that the leg which has received Rolfing feels stronger, more secure. Often they notice that the weight travels on the inside of that foot and that there seems to be less pressure on the heel. The other leg will then be worked on and some work will be done on the back and neck to balance the end of the session.
The Second Session
The Third Session
The third Rolfing session is an integrating one. It ties the first two sessions together into a complex whole. It is the last of the superficial sessions and a crucial point for both Rolfer and client. Fundamentally, the third Rolfing session deals with what’s called the lateral line from the head to the humerus, or upper arm, to the greater trochanter of the femur, or thigh bone. The client lies on his or her side as the Rolfing practitioner works to arrange the shoulder, ribs and pelvis into an even stack, differentiating the rib cage from the shoulder girdle on top and from the pelvis underneath. The Rolfer’s goal is to set each in its own space without crowding from its neighbors. The result will eventually be freer breathing and less painful crowding of the structures. Typical homework after the third session might be to imagine that the pelvis is hanging from the rib cage like a swing hanging from a tree limb.
The Fourth Session
The fourth Rolfing session represents a change in the Rolfer’s intention and commitment. His or her focus is no longer on the superficial fascial planes and is now concentrated upon what’s called the body’s active core. Rolfers define core structures as those that lie close to the spine and body’s midline; they are differentiated from the sleeve, the shoulder and pelvic girdles, and the lateral structures of the legs. The agenda for the fourth session is deceptively simple. The inside of the legs is treated, from the ankles to the pelvic floor, followed by work on the hamstring muscles and organization of the back and neck. The goal of the session is to establish improved support for the structures that make up the pelvic floor. Although most of the work is on the legs, a client will also often feel a lift throughout the torso. The fourth Rolfing session establishes an inner pillar from which the limbs can be hung. That is, the Rolfer seeks to hang the body’s sleeve from the supportive core.
The Fifth Session
The fifth Rolfing session is a continuation of the fourth. It is recommended that not more than two or three weeks separate these sessions. Its province is the relationship of the superficial abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis, to the deep-seated hip flexor, the iliopsoas. Most people mistakenly use the wide band of external stomach muscles to do the work of stronger, deeper lying muscles. During this session the Rolfer slowly lengthens and separates the outer structures to allow room for the inner structures to reassert their strength.
Sometimes clients become anxious about this particular session, especially when they know a bit about anatomy. They fear manipulation deep in the body and in the area of crucial organs. However, Dr. Rolf developed an ingenious and remarkably safe method of manipulating these deep structures with a minimum of discomfort and this technique is taught to all Certified Rolfers. The deep stomach muscles have certain properties that make them unique in the body. They are the only muscles that extend from the legs to the trunk. All other muscles of the leg or trunk attach directly to some part of the pelvic girdle. As a result, the proper training and toning of these leg and stomach muscles are usually better for problem backs than traditional sit-ups. In fact, sit-ups are likely to exaggerate back problems by shortening the front of the body from the collarbone to hip joint. But the balancing exercises of Rolfing and Rolf Movement work are designed to bring health and vitality to the under-used deep structures, and they can do much more than the surface muscles to cure weak backs.
A healthy, active psoas muscle also helps other conditions. The nerve fibers located near the psoas become stimulated as the muscles respond to new movement. Menstrual cramping, constipation and excessive gas are often lessened as a result. A satisfying feeling of the leg-trunk connection of these muscles often emerges as the client learns to move his or her legs from the lumbar spine rather than from the hip joint. The holistic nature of the body becomes physical reality rather than an intellectual idea.
The Sixth Session
In the Rolfing series, each session focuses on some aspect of the pelvis. Even in the second session, work on the legs and feet is designed to establish support for the pelvic basin. However, the sixth session is very specific in its approach to the pelvis. The muscle structures that are the keys here are the deep rotating muscles of the pelvis. If the client’s legs are unable to function smoothly while walking, balancing the deep rotators will usually even out pacing and gait.
By this time in the sequence, both the Rolfer and his client have become aware of the balancing of the pelvic structure. As the body becomes more symmetrical and organized around a vertical line, disparities between the right and left sides become less apparent. In the sixth session, this symmetry is enhanced and extended above and below the pelvic girdle.
The incorrect use of the term posture to describe the results of Rolfing can now be better understood. The Latin root of posture is positus, meaning “to place, to put”. Consequently, good posture usually implies the placing of the body into a position that is considered appropriate and balanced. The goal of the sixth session, on the other hand, is to create a structure which rests on a well-supported vertical core and demands a minimum of effort to maintain. Rolfing, therefore, is concerned with the integration of human structures and not with outdated notions about posture.
The results of the sixth Rolfing session are generally dramatic and welcomed by clients. A sense of balance and space are reported. There is an ability to breathe through to the spine; that is, the spine appears to undulate slightly during respiration in a gentle, wavelike motion. People who have decreased or eliminated chronic back pain through Rolfing usually point to the sixth session as pivotal in their progress. Others, who come suffering from anxiety, may also describe a great easing of emotional distress after this session.
The Seventh Session
Referring to the seventh Rolfing session, Dr. Rolf often remarked: “The seventh session is the last chance to ‘horizontal’ the pelvis”. In doing that, the work of the seventh session is directed entirely toward balancing the neck and head on the spine. During a seventh session, the Rolfer works on the fascia of the neck, opens the connective tissues around the skull and face and helps to improve breathing further by opening constricted nasal passages.
The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Sessions
In each of the first seven segments of Rolfing, the practitioner focused on one area of the body. The goals of a particular segment centered around securing its particular part in the vertical balance of the whole body. With the eighth session, a broader and more comprehensive approach to the integration of the entire body structure becomes necessary. These last three sessions are often called the integrative hours, and in them the client completes the Rolfing basic 10 series.
The dictionary defines integration as “a combination and coordination of separate and diverse elements or units into a more complete and harmonious whole”. This is the job of the client and Rolfer in these final sessions. “It is easy to take a body apart,” Dr. Rolf would declare, “but it takes skill and understanding to put it back together”. In the last three Rolfing sessions, the practitioner and client work towards a body that is posed on a narrow base and can move easily in any direction. Large fascial sheaths are related one to the other, and a silky quality in the muscle tissue is sought. Several times during these sessions, the client will be asked to stand up and walk about in order to assess the result of the manipulations. Much work will be done with the client sitting or standing, because the relationship because the relationship of a particular body part to gravity is the most important goal in these hours.
Advanced Rolfing and Rolf Movement
In each of the first seven segments of Rolfing, the practitioner focused on one area of the body. The goals of a particular segment centered around securing its particular part in the vertical balance of the whole body. With the eighth session, a broader and more comprehensive approach to the integration of the entire body structure becomes necessary. These last three sessions are often called the integrative hours, and in them the client completes the Rolfing basic 10 series.
The dictionary defines integration as “a combination and coordination of separate and diverse elements or units into a more complete and harmonious whole”. This is the job of the client and Rolfer in these final sessions. “It is easy to take a body apart,” Dr. Rolf would declare, “but it takes skill and understanding to put it back together”. In the last three Rolfing sessions, the practitioner and client work towards a body that is posed on a narrow base and can move easily in any direction. Large fascial sheaths are related one to the other, and a silky quality in the muscle tissue is sought. Several times during these sessions, the client will be asked to stand up and walk about in order to assess the result of the manipulations. Much work will be done with the client sitting or standing, because the relationship because the relationship of a particular body part to gravity is the most important goal in these hours.
